Who's your money on? - Part 3

By Andrew Birrell

This year’s mid-table race could be very interesting indeed. Most people will be thinking your Giants, Steelers, Clan, Devils and Panthers will be fighting it out for the top 4 but one will definitely miss out on the top 4. It’s who comes forward from the other teams that will make the challenge for that  5^th spot so interesting.

So, if we say Belfast, Nottingham and Sheffield are certs for the top 3 places, that leaves Clan and Devils and I would put Blaze in there too, fighting for the 4^th and 5^th spots. For me I think, on paper, Blaze look a top 4 side this year so Clan and Devils will be fighting for 5^th. Who from the remaining teams could challenge Braehead and Cardiff for that spot? Well, the Caps have bought well so far in the transfer market and look a much improved side. Are they capable of fighting the Devils or Clan for the 5^th spot? I don’t think they are. The same applies with Dundee, on paper they look a much better well balanced team, again I don’t think they will be a match night in, night out for likes of the Devils and the Clan.

Manchester? Well, they look not bad on paper but first year back in the big time might be too much or a shock to the system, but they also might come in with a “we’re gonna fight” attitude and surprise us all no way this year though they will fight for the 5^th spot. That leaves the Flyers, have Todd and Danny bought well enough to see us up there in that 5^th spot? Only if the team are consistent and play as a team and work hard for 60 minutes every night, then you know what we just might be able to nick that 5^th spot - but only time will tell.

So, who is your money on?

Comment below, or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter

You can still read Andrew's first part here

You can still read Andrew's second part here

Don't forget to follow Andrew on Twitter: @coloradoflyer

Quick take: the signing of David Brown

Today, the Fife Flyers announced the signing of netminder David Brown. It would be fair to say that this signing came with mixed reviews. The mixed response is entirely understandable, Brown posted a 3.49 GAA and a save percentage of 0.902* which saw him ranked 10th of 12 netminders who played a minimum of 1260 minutes in the Elite League last season. At the same time though, for all their recruitment is heavily scrutinised, the Flyers don't sign bad goaltenders.

How does Brown compare to our previous backstop? The much loved Kevin Regan posted a 3.07 GAA and a save percentage of 0.901 and 3.14 GAA and 0.900 S% in 2014/15 and 2013/14 respectively. So the save percentage is effectively the same, what about the goals against average? Well pure and simple, Brown faced more shots than Regan. In fact, Brown faced more shots than any goalie last season, with the exception of Brian Stewart.

Alas, the fairy tale return of Bryan Pitton never materialised but the addition of Brown is a solid addition. While on the face of it, Brown may not fill you with confidence, do you know what should? Our defence. Brown is used to facing a lot of rubber and with our well organised d-corps this should drop considerably (Brown faced almost 400 more shots than Regan). Something to consider is the relative performance of Ben Bowns when he moved to Cardiff from Hull. In his final season on Humberside, Bowns posted 3.53 GAA and 0.907 S% while putting up 0.909 S% and 2.56 GAA in his year in Cardiff. Brown could also benefit from playing in a system that limits the shots that he faces.

Brown's major issue is, through no fault of his own, he has played in the Elite League for another team. Fans have formed an opinion on him based on him playing for a rival. That's always going to happen, but if the Flyers recruit a further defenceman they will have as strong a group as they've ever had. The potential return of fan favourite, Scott Fleming bodes for a strong core of centers and defensively responsible forward lines. Don't look at this signing as just a solitary addition but look at the whole roster make up.

*while Elite Prospects lists his save percentage as 0.899, the accompanying link to the EIHL website quotes a save percentage of 0.902.

Update: As pointed out by Bill Brisbane on Twitter:

@murdochhockey * Eliteprospects lists his 4 PO games, where he had a .935 save%, separately. Add those to the regular season to get .902%.

— Bill Brisbane (@Billbrisb) July 27, 2015

Who's your money on? - Part 2

By Andrew Birrell

Now on to the third and fourth placed teams from last year, firstly the Cardiff Devils. Last year everyone thought at the start of the season thought the Devils could win the league with the squad they had but they managed 3^rd and they also won the Challenge Cup, they have managed to retain a good few guys from last year, both net minders form last year are back as are defence men    Josh Batch , Callum Buglass, Trevor Hendrix, Carl Hudson and Mark Richardson and finally the fantastic devils captain from last year Tyson Marsh. In the forward ranks the Devils have retained Joey Haddad, player Coach Andrew Lord, Chris Jones, Joey Martin, Jake Morissette and Luke Piggott, and Brent Walton. The boys are joined by former Clan and Panthers player Leigh Salters, former Hull and Panthers player Guillaume Doucet. The Devils this year will be the same average height and weight so yet again a force to reckon with and the additions up top they’ve made, they will be even more dangerous can they mount a challenge for the title. I think on paper they have another good looking squad and could make the top 3, well what do think?

On to the fourth placed team last year the big, bad, black cats from Nottingham - the Panthers. The previous two season they have finished in fourth place, and until last year they had won the challenge cup something crazy like 5 years in a row. This year’s team will be slightly different again as the panthers stalwart K-wall is finally away and the panthers have a new number 1 netminder he is Miika Wiikman, and back for another season is back up Dan Green, at the back they have kept Steve Lee and Sam Oakford. The new guys so far are, from Dundee Paul Swindlehurst has signed, Bryan Schmidt, Jeff Dimmen, Geoff Waugh and Former NHL player Theo Peckham, up front the Panthers have kept hold of Betteridge, David “Mr Nottingham “ Clarke, Robert Farmer, Robert Lackowicz and Evan Mosey. The new recruits are Andy Bohmback, Jurak Kolnik, Erick Lizon and Logan McMillan and GB forward Matt Myers. The Panthers this year will be a little bit taller and have more weight to push teams around as I think a lot of teams managed to bully the panthers last year at times, with the guys they have this year I can’t see many teams bullying them but the question is can they make it in to the top 3 we will have to wait and see. 

So, who is your money on?

Comment below, or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter

You can still read Andrew's first part here

Don't forget to follow Andrew on Twitter: @coloradoflyer

Who's your money on? - Part 1

By Andrew Birrell

So far this year last year’s league champions have already completed their squad and last year’s runners up the Braehead Clan are not far behind. The Panthers, Devils, Belfast and Blaze are also not far of completion. So the question for today is based on who everyone has signed who is your money on? Firstly let’s look at the champions and 2^nd placed teams the Steelers and the Clan, well the champs now have two new netminders firstly Tyler Plante he is 28 years old, for the USA and has bags of experience 164 games in the WHL, almost 40 games in the ECHL, has played in the Allsvenskan and also sometime in Norway and Italy and his back up this year will be 21 year old Brad Day, he is a Sheffield lad, and played in most of their junior set ups he has also played for the Sheffield ENL team and the EPL Steeldogs, on defence they have retained Cullen Eddy, Ben O’Conner and Rod Sarich, the new boys are Jace Coyle who Paul Thompson coached last year in Aalborg, former Clan player Zach Fitzgerald, Darrell Hay and finally another former Aalborg player Russ Moyer. The Forwards  Steelers have managed to retain most of last year’s guys then new additions are Mike Duco, Levi Nelson and Fredrik Vestberg. Also this year’s Steelers team will be shorter and lighter in weight so do we think they will be good enough to hold on to the title. 

Now last year’s runners up the Braehead Clan, they also have new netminders in Chris Holt the guy has played at the highest levels of the game and will bring a wealth of experience he has played in ECHL, AHL, NHL, KHL, 2 games for team USA and a few other places to, his back up will be former Northern league goalie from the Solway Sharks Gary Russell or "Rusty" as most know him he is a very good goalie and will serve the Clan well. The Clans defence? Well, 3 guys back from last year so far in Scott Aarssen, Jamie Fritsch and Zach Sullivan and there new import D man is Ric Jackman and what a great signing this could be as he has 231 NHL games under his belt. Going forward so far the Clan have retained seven of last year’s guys including the captain Matt Keith, Scott Pitt and Stefan Meyer, there new forwards that have been announced so far are Brendan Brooks Jordan Cownie who is a GB under 20 player, Alex Leavitt and they also acquired Bari Mckenzie from the Dundee Stars. So far this year the Clan are 2 inches shorter and about 5KG’s lighter will this make a difference to how they play as we know Finner likes to play physical so can they maintain their conference form and win it again for a third time , and can they win the league.

So, who is your money on?

Comment below, or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter

Don't forget to follow Andrew on Twitter: @coloradoflyer

Fantastic Mr Fox?

Today, the Flyers announced the signing of Canadian forward Justin Fox. Fox comes to the UK off the back of a strong ECHL campaign with the Quad City Mallards. Given that EIHL teams are now looking for players with AHL experience and even NHL playing time, how does this signing measure up? This is a question that I posed this morning upon hearing the announcement:

Flyers new signing looks good, the only thing is when a player only has ECHL/CHL experience coming to EIHL it's seen as depth/safe signing.

— Murdoch Hockey Blog (@murdochhockey) July 20, 2015

This season in particular, teams have signed players with decent NHL experience, demand for minimum AHL experience is high now.

— Murdoch Hockey Blog (@murdochhockey) July 20, 2015

However, is this a depth signing? How does he compare to other players who have followed this same recruitment path to the EIHL? Don't worry, I'm not going to got through every signing from the ECHL from every team, ever - mainly because I don't care - what I will do is see how he compares to the previous signings that the Flyers have made since joining the Elite League for the 2011/12 season.
In the ensuing 5 off-seasons, the Flyers have signed 6 forwards who played in the ECHL in their previous season. Those players are: Matt Siddall, Mike Hamilton, Casey Haines, Matt Reber, Chris Auger and Scott Fleming. Based on their season in North America's third tier it may be difficult to straight up make an assumption on how they would fare in the UK's top league. For example, Casey Haines scored 34 points in 54 games for Norfolk Admirals in the 2011/12 season and would put up a remarkable 64 points in only 45 games. This perfectly shows the perils of assumptions in the recruiting process, the ice time for Haines was increased and given his small stature the wider ice pad may have benefited him.
Judging a player on their previous season is difficult, especially when they have played in another league but here goes:

On the face of it, Fox has the best points per game ratio so may well be coming here with the highest pedigree from that league. His numbers are similar to that of Fleming and Auger, who for a variety of reasons did not put up incredible numbers. One thing that is important is that Fox is not a center, he's winger. A winger who - the hope is - with increased ice time could well put up great numbers. A great example comparable could be Matt Reber. Reber scored just 35 points in 55 games for the Stockton Thunder and would go on to score 126 points in just 113 games for the Flyers. 

Have the Flyers signed a superstar for the league? They haven't, but what they have signed is a solid scorer from a comparable league, who with the right linemates could very well put up great numbers in the Old Barn. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing him donning the white, gold and blue.

Murdoch and Frame - Episode 6

Here's this week's episode of the Murdoch and Frame Podcast, delighted to have been joined by Flyers legend Frank Morris.

If you would like to contribute to future shows, please contact us at murdochhockeyblog@gmail.com